JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO BACK IN THE WATER....

26 October 2007

Positive EU news of recent months marred by arrest of Unibet chief


Mainstream media in Britain, France and the Netherlands is reporting on the arrest of Swedish online gambling group Unibet's outspoken CEO, Petter Nylander today (Monday) It is believed the executive was arrested at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport whilst boarding a flight back to his home in Britain.

The DutchNews organisation reported that Nylander was detained on a warrant of arrest issued by the French authorities and forwarded to Dutch police to execute in what is almost a duplication of the American arrests 'in transit' of David Carruthers of BetonSports and Peter Dick of Sportingbet last year (see previous InfoPowa reports)

Reacting to the news in a statement, Unibet said the arrest pertained to proceedings filed in 2006 by the French gaming monopolies Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) and the PMU. The charges relate to breaches of laws dating back to 1836 and 1891.

The company said it is “....outraged by France’s total disregard of European Community law [and is] aiming to protect a domestic commercial gambling monopoly, which is being challenged by the European Commission”.

The company added that though it was aware of the possibility of action being taken it was still "surprised” by the move.

“In March 2007, the European Court of Justice ruled in the Placanica case, confirming that betting services are covered by the EU Treaty. The court also confirmed that criminal proceedings brought against legitimate operators based in other EU member states are in contradiction with the EU Treaty.

"On 27 June, the EU Commission issued a reasoned opinion against France, in relation with the infringement proceedings concerning France's restrictions on sports betting. Furthermore, on 10 July, the highest jurisdiction in France (Cour de cassation) overturned a decision that banned a Maltese company from offering online betting on horse races in France.

"Finally, the French government has stated its will to open a discussion with the European Commission towards a regulated opening of the French online gaming market."

Unibet’s chief financial officer and deputy chief executive Ragnar Hellenius has been appointed by the board of Unibet as acting chief executive until Nylander is released. He commented: “This situation is clearly unacceptable and extraordinary in ours and in any industry.

"It is our view that this use of the possibility for cross-border legal actions is a clear abuse of their true aim, and in all aspects, disproportionate. Unibet is licensed in the UK, Malta and Italy for gambling, listed on the OMX Nordic Stock Exchange and a company complying with European law. This is clearly a breach of the EU Treaty and the fundamental principles of the European Union.

Hellenius concluded: “We are upset at this unlawful act and harassment against our company and a citizen of Europe and we will take every action possible to bring this matter to justice. This criminalisation of a specific individual is a tactic that we have seen French authorities using before and something we will not tolerate.

"We take for granted that Petter Nylander will be released immediately.”

The BBC opined that the timing of the detention may embarrass the French government, which only last week said it wanted to liberalise the online gambling market in France (see previous InfoPowa report). The comments followed criticism from the European Commission that France's current stand on overseas gambling firms broke European competition rules.

In the summer, the French government lost a European legal challenge against Maltese online betting firm Zeturf, which was given the go-ahead to legally operate in France.

In June this year, Unibet's cycling team was banned from competing in the Tour de France, after the race organisers ruled that its participation would contravene French rules that outlaw advertising by foreign gambling firms. Unibet said at the time that its sense of injustice was compounded by the fact that the race's main sponsor was French horse racing betting monopoly PMU.

DutchNews recalled that Unibet is also under fire in the Netherlands which regards Unibet's online betting as illegal because all gambling in the country must be in the hands of state owned companies....another point of friction with European Commission officials. The European Commission is currently investigating the Dutch gambling monopoly and has already threatened to sue France, Sweden and Greece for banning foreign companies from the gambling market.

The Financieele Dagblad reports that a court in Utrecht ordered Unibet to stop all its activities in the Netherlands at the beginning of October, and demanded the company pay Euro 100 000 to state-owned gambling monopoly firm De Lotto for every day it continues to operate.

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa